ITALY-SAUDI ARABIA: CONFINDUSTRIA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ACWA POWER FOR GREEN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

Beltrame: 'Great opportunities for Italian companies on water and energy projects'

Rome, 12 September 2023 - Confindustria's Vice President for Internationalisation, Barbara Beltrame, on the occasion of the Italian-Saudi 2023 Investment Forum that took place on 4 September in Milan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ACWA Power, a leading company in the production of energy, desalinated water and green hydrogen, present in the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and Africa. The aim of the agreement is to initiate collaborations between ACWA Power and Confindustria System companies operating in these sectors. The Saudi Arabian company - a listed joint-stock company in which the Public Investment Fund is the majority shareholder - aims to become one of the largest global producers of green hydrogen and already has major projects under consideration in several locations including NEOM, the carbon neutral smart city under construction in the Arabian desert.

In addition to the supply of green hydrogen, the MoU foresees strategic collaboration on new water desalination plans, research and development of advanced disinfection/purification technologies and power generation projects, both from renewable and conventional sources, with the potential involvement of suppliers in the field of 'solar tracker' systems (a technology that allows panels to be oriented in the direction with the most light), photovoltaic inverters, energy storage mechanisms in batteries, cleaning of vehicle-operated photovoltaic modules, and suppliers for substation equipment.

"The Gulf Area has taken on a renewed centrality in the current international scenario - said Confindustria Vice President Barbara Beltrame - and, in this context, relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia are being welded and strengthened at all levels, as witnessed by the wide participation in the Italian-Saudi Investment Forum. Confindustria, with its participation in the Italian-Saudi Investment Forum in Ryadh in June 2022, with the establishment and co-chairmanship of the Saudi-Italian Business Council and with the respective Forums in Rome and Milan last May, is actively participating in this process"Beltrame added. "The signing of the memorandum with ACWA Power represents a great opportunity for our companies to cooperate together to enter the Saudi market in strategic sectors such as energy, water desalination and green hydrogen at a time when Saudi Arabia is making extraordinary efforts to diversify its economy and strengthen its industrial base. Trade relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia are at an important juncture, with encouraging forecasts for 2023 due to the complementary nature of the two economies and their respective ambitions in terms of attracting new investments beneficial to both countries"concluded the Vice President of Confindustria.